{ "id": "epjhrdsw2s", "slug": "laile-ou-la-cuisse", "title": "L'Aile ou la Cuisse", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s", "label": "Comedies of the 1970s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s.yr-1970-1976", "label": "Released 1970 to 1976", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s.yr-1970-1976" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000: Comedies of the 1970s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s", "label": "Comedies of the 1970s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s" } ] } ], "excerpt": "L'Aile ou la Cuisse (The Wing or the Thigh), 1976 French comedy by Claude Zidi starring Louis de Funès and Coluche, their only film together; gastronomic critic Duchemin battles industrial-food magnate Tricatel; about 6 million admissions, second at the 1976 French box office.", "snippet": "L'Aile ou la Cuisse (The Wing or the Thigh), 1976 French comedy by Claude Zidi starring Louis de Funès and Coluche, their only film together; gastronomic critic Duchemin battles industrial-food magnate Tricatel; about 6 million admissions, second at the 1976 French box office.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s.yr-1970-1976", "markdown": "# L'Aile ou la Cuisse\n\n**L'Aile ou la Cuisse** (English title *The Wing or the Thigh*) is a 1976 French comedy directed by Claude Zidi, starring [Louis de Funès](https://www.edgepedia.org/louis-de-funes) as the gastronomic critic Charles Duchemin and Coluche as his son Gérard, in their first screen appearance together.[1](https://www.cinematheque.qc.ca/fr/cinema/laile-ou-la-cuisse/) The film pits traditional French gastronomy against industrial food production, and it marked de Funès's return to the screen after a serious heart attack in 1975.[2](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D47573.html)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writers | Claude Zidi; screenplay and dialogue by Claude Zidi and Michel Fabre[3](https://www.cinematheque.fr/film/54573.html) |\n| Release | French theatrical release 27 October 1976; CNC visa no. 45950 dated 20 October 1976[4](https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark%3A/12148/cb16605554j) • [5](https://www.cnc.fr/professionnels/visas-et-classification/45950) |\n| Runtime | 112 min per the CNC visa record (3,029 m of film); other catalogs list 104 to 110 min[5](https://www.cnc.fr/professionnels/visas-et-classification/45950) • [1](https://www.cinematheque.qc.ca/fr/cinema/laile-ou-la-cuisse/) • [3](https://www.cinematheque.fr/film/54573.html) |\n| Main cast | Louis de Funès (Charles Duchemin), Coluche (Gérard Duchemin), Julien Guiomar (Jacques Tricatel), Claude Gensac (Marguerite), Ann Zacharias (Marguerite no. 2)[2](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D47573.html) |\n| Box office | About 6 million admissions in France, second place for the year behind *Les Dents de la mer* (Jaws)[6](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2013/07/25/les-bronzes-font-des-petits_3453682_3246.html) • [7](https://eclass.asfa.gr/modules/document/file.php/AHT4126/Intermediality%20and%20Modernity.pdf) |\n| Production | Les Films Christian Fechner, producer Christian Fechner; original distributor AMLF; cinematography Claude Renoir; music Vladimir Cosma[3](https://www.cinematheque.fr/film/54573.html) |\n| Ratings | IMDb 7.2/10 from about 14,000 votes; AlloCiné spectator average 3.9/5[8](https://www.imdb.com/fr/title/tt0074103/ratings/) • [9](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-47573/critiques/spectateurs/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nCharles Duchemin, the director of a renowned gastronomic guide who has just been elected to the [Académie Française](https://www.edgepedia.org/academie-francaise), finds a formidable adversary in Jacques Tricatel, the head of a chain of industrial restaurants.[2](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D47573.html) Duchemin hopes his son Gérard will succeed him, but the young man secretly runs a small circus troupe and dreams of becoming a clown.[1](https://www.cinematheque.qc.ca/fr/cinema/laile-ou-la-cuisse/) A stranger disguised as a plumber steals the proofs of the guide's next edition for Tricatel, who intends to buy up cheaply the establishments the guide has rejected; Gérard tails the thief and discovers the name of the man behind it.[10](https://www.programme-television.org/type/films/comedies/laile-ou-la-cuisse-1239) Duchemin challenges Tricatel to a television confrontation, but loses his sense of taste and smell, and Gérard agrees to stand in for him.[11](https://tv.apple.com/fr/movie/laile-ou-la-cuisse/umc.cmc.528okz3xqiroqw19490fehdfl)\n\n**The circus scene.** Tricatel tells Duchemin that Gérard slips away every evening at dinnertime to perform his clown act with a troupe that follows the gastronomic tour. Duchemin follows his son into a circus tent, finds himself pulled into the act, is covered in shaving foam, and receives a bucket of water thrown in his face by Gérard, who is stunned to discover that the sketch's participant is his father.[12](https://www.artcena.fr/sites/default/files/medias/Circus_Science_2_1.pdf) Some critics at the release singled out this moment for its contained emotion; Robert Chazal wrote in *France-Soir* on 29 October 1976 of \"a scene of contained emotion\" between the two actors at the most unexpected instant.[12](https://www.artcena.fr/sites/default/files/medias/Circus_Science_2_1.pdf)\n\n## Production and de Funès's return\n\nThe film was de Funès's return after three years away from the screen following a heart attack (infarctus) in 1975.[3](https://www.cinematheque.fr/film/54573.html) • [2](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D47573.html) His health made him uninsurable, and the producer Christian Fechner took the risk of making the film anyway; the Quebec producer René Malo was involved in the financing, and the film's success allowed Malo to move into feature production.[1](https://www.cinematheque.qc.ca/fr/cinema/laile-ou-la-cuisse/) According to a retrospective account, the film was insured for only 6 of its 12 planned weeks of shooting, and Zidi was to be paid only if the film was completed and could be edited.[13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8mgICt5Sfs)\n\n**A changed performance.** De Funès adapted his playing to his condition. In an October 1976 interview preserved by the INA, he said he could no longer be \"brutal\" and that the tantrums directors had asked of him no longer interested him: \"In *L'Aile ou la cuisse*, I played differently, and it's just as effective, maybe more so.\"[14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-dSg5ljQI8) The Cinémathèque française notes that his thinner face and more nuanced playing gave the performance depth, and that with Coluche, whose candor recalled Bourvil's, he formed an unexpected duo and passed a symbolic baton to a new generation, embodied also by Zidi behind the camera.[3](https://www.cinematheque.fr/film/54573.html) On the poster, de Funès required that Coluche's name appear as large as his own, citing Bourvil's similar gesture toward him on *Le Corniaud*.[6](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2013/07/25/les-bronzes-font-des-petits_3453682_3246.html)\n\nShooting ran from 24 May to 16 August 1976, with locations including New York for the opening sequence, Place d'Iéna and Maxim's in Paris, and the Manhattan tower at [La Défense](https://www.edgepedia.org/la-defense) and the MétrOpoliS site at Rungis for the Tricatel settings.[15](https://www.imdb.com/fr/title/tt0074103/locations/) A television report on the shoot, broadcast on 22 October 1976 in the TF1 program *Allons au cinéma*, shows Zidi directing de Funès and the two stars making up as clowns in their dressing room, with de Funès providing the voice-over commentary.[16](https://www.ina.fr/ina-eclaire-actu/video/i00005294/tournage-de-l-aile-ou-la-cuisse)\n\n## Reception and legacy\n\nThe film drew about 6 million admissions in France, with one account giving 5.8 million, and ranked second at the 1976 French box office behind *Les Dents de la mer*.[6](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2013/07/25/les-bronzes-font-des-petits_3453682_3246.html) • [7](https://eclass.asfa.gr/modules/document/file.php/AHT4126/Intermediality%20and%20Modernity.pdf) The success relaunched de Funès's career.[1](https://www.cinematheque.qc.ca/fr/cinema/laile-ou-la-cuisse/) De Funès and Coluche did not work together again; Coluche appeared in Inspecteur la Bavure (1980), Banzaï (1983), and Les Rois du gag (1985), and died in a motorcycle accident on 19 June 1986.[2](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D47573.html)\n\n**Satire of industrial food.** Contemporary press coverage dwelt at length on the film's critical view of food industrialization.[12](https://www.artcena.fr/sites/default/files/medias/Circus_Science_2_1.pdf) The Cinémathèque française describes it as a sharp pamphlet against consumer society, industrial food, and \"progress,\" while noting flashes of tenderness and poetry beneath the caricatural comedy.[3](https://www.cinematheque.fr/film/54573.html) *Le Monde* later grouped it with the comedies about junk food that mock the unhappy marriage of capitalism and cuisine, alongside *Le Fondateur* (2016).[17](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2025/07/05/scenes-de-la-vie-culinaire-tour-de-table-de-la-grande-et-de-la-petite-bouffe-au-cinema_6618830_3476.html) Spectator reviews on AlloCiné repeatedly single out the wine-tasting scene, in which Duchemin, deprived of taste and smell, judges a wine from its appearance alone, as the film's statement that industrial production cannot replace genuine know-how.[9](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-47573/critiques/spectateurs/)\n\nVladimir Cosma composed the original score.[3](https://www.cinematheque.fr/film/54573.html) A restored version returned to French theaters on 17 June 2026, fifty years after the original release, distributed by Swashbuckler Films, whose distribution rights began on 1 January 2026 in the CNC register.[2](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D47573.html) • [5](https://www.cnc.fr/professionnels/visas-et-classification/45950)\n\n## References\n\n1. [L'aile ou la cuisse, Cinémathèque québécoise](https://www.cinematheque.qc.ca/fr/cinema/laile-ou-la-cuisse/)\n2. [L'Aile ou la cuisse, Film 1976, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D47573.html)\n3. [L'Aile ou la cuisse (Claude Zidi, 1976), La Cinémathèque française](https://www.cinematheque.fr/film/54573.html)\n4. [Notice de titre conventionnel \"L'aile ou la cuisse (film)\", Bibliothèque nationale de France](https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark%3A/12148/cb16605554j)\n5. [L'Aile ou la Cuisse, Registre des visas et de la classification, CNC](https://www.cnc.fr/professionnels/visas-et-classification/45950)\n6. [« Les Bronzés » : retour sur un film culte, Le Monde (2013)](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2013/07/25/les-bronzes-font-des-petits_3453682_3246.html)\n7. [L'Image railleuse (PDF, ASFA)](https://eclass.asfa.gr/modules/document/file.php/AHT4126/Intermediality%20and%20Modernity.pdf)\n8. [L'Aile ou la Cuisse (1976), Évaluations, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/fr/title/tt0074103/ratings/)\n9. [Critiques du film L'Aile ou la cuisse, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-47573/critiques/spectateurs/)\n10. [L'aile ou la cuisse (1976) : diffusions TV, Télé 7 Jours](https://www.programme-television.org/type/films/comedies/laile-ou-la-cuisse-1239)\n11. [L'aile ou la cuisse, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/fr/movie/laile-ou-la-cuisse/umc.cmc.528okz3xqiroqw19490fehdfl)\n12. [Féérie sociale et identité artistique : la portée symbolique et culturelle du cirque dans L'Aile ou la Cuisse, Circus Sciences no. 2 (2022)](https://www.artcena.fr/sites/default/files/medias/Circus_Science_2_1.pdf)\n13. [L'AILE OU LA CUISSE (1976) – Retrospective, NI&CO TV, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8mgICt5Sfs)\n14. [Louis de Funès talks about the filming of \"L'aile ou la cuisse\" with Coluche, INA Archive, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-dSg5ljQI8)\n15. [L'Aile ou la Cuisse (1976), Tournage et production, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/fr/title/tt0074103/locations/)\n16. [Tournage de \"L'Aile ou la Cuisse\", INA](https://www.ina.fr/ina-eclaire-actu/video/i00005294/tournage-de-l-aile-ou-la-cuisse)\n17. [Scènes de la vie culinaire : tour de table de la grande et de la petite bouffe au cinéma, Le Monde (2025)](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2025/07/05/scenes-de-la-vie-culinaire-tour-de-table-de-la-grande-et-de-la-petite-bouffe-au-cinema_6618830_3476.html)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of the 1970s › Released 1970 to 1976*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/laile-ou-la-cuisse", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/laile-ou-la-cuisse.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"L'Aile ou la Cuisse\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/laile-ou-la-cuisse. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[L'Aile ou la Cuisse](https://www.edgepedia.org/laile-ou-la-cuisse)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/laile-ou-la-cuisse](https://www.edgepedia.org/laile-ou-la-cuisse). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"L'Aile ou la Cuisse\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/laile-ou-la-cuisse. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "L'Aile ou la Cuisse, 1976 French comedy by Claude Zidi starring Louis de Funès and Coluche, their only film together; gastronomic critic Duchemin battles industrial-food magnate Tricatel; about 6 million admissions, second at the 1976 French box office." }